The present invention refers, as its title indicates, to an improved domino.
Everybody knows the game of dominoes, which has twenty-eight pieces consisting of all the combinations of pairs of points, between the double zero and the double six, and normally represented by dots on its obverse.
Apart from being easy to play, figures have been adopted in other variants of the game so that it can be learned by young children.
The features of the game consist of it being played with two opposing pairs of players each of whom have to place as many of their pieces as possible which coincide with the ends of the row, and at the same time prevent the opposite pair from placing their own.
The drawback encountered by players in domino championship matches is that there is no playing procedure which is impartial, since until now chance has decided the distribution of pieces among the players in each match, without allowing their value to be compared between one player and another.
In the case of a xe2x80x9cpoolxe2x80x9d type championship, that is, all the participating tables play the same groups of pieces, distributed in the same arrangement, the drawback arises that at the end of a match it is not possible to locate the pieces corresponding to each player, unless their values are noted on a sheet of paper.
Sometimes, even though a championship is not being played, one may also wish to repeat matches with the same distribution of pieces, either to improve the score or to make comparisons or small contests between different players.
Placing of the pieces at the start of a match is also a drawback to be taken into account, as they must be placed standing up on the playing table without being visible by the other players.
Another drawback, which arises at the end of a match, is the nuisance entailed by having to place all the pieces inside the traditional box.
The domino pieces proposed by the invention have been conceived and structured in order to resolve these problems, as it provides for the possibility that all the domino players, for example in a championship, possess the same pieces in each match, and distributed in the same arrangement as the previous four players had, that is, that the four players who make up the match, identified, for example, as north-south-east-west (N-S-E-W), (1-2-3-4), (red-green-yellow-blue), etc., receive the same seven pieces which their predecessors received, thus eliminating the distorting effect of chance in the competition and making it possible to establish a fairer comparison among all the participants.
This is achieved by identifying the pieces of each player on their back or sides, in such a way that once the match is over, the pieces belonging to each are recovered, locating the signal that was arranged, for example, in the first distribution and being able to replay the same match or establish a priori some predetermined combinations.
The device for storing, moving and identifying the pieces, has appropriate elements for facilitating location, possession, movement and keeping of the pieces in a perfectly suitable way, as it consists mainly of a group of four cases which also serve as a support for the seven pieces corresponding to each of the four players.
Once the domino pieces are identified, their location in each case may be organised. To allow identification of the pieces contained in each case, the latter have been provided with the possibility of having windows or transparencies in which the marks of the pieces can be seen, or each case is identified by letters, signs, numbers, colors, etc.
In this way, if we indicate each player as north-south-east-west (or blue-green-yellow-red, etc.), each group of seven pieces is respectively located.
Each of these four cases, in which seven pieces must be placed, may be made of a material which leaves visible only the backs of the pieces in order to observe if they correspond to those which were previously marked, or it may be an opaque material so that each one identifies one of the four players.
It must also be observed that the arrangement of the pieces is correct, that is, that all the scores are concealed and that the sides, for example, are shown which show the two identifying colours of the obverse and the back of the pieces.
These four cases may also be arranged inside a box or tray for moving or keeping the entire domino match, as well as for storing the same.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the present invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.